Sentence reduced on appeal
The National Criminal Cassation Court in Argentina has reduced the prison sentence for Julián Reina from 19 to 17 years. Reina had been convicted of attempting to murder his ex-partner, Dana Pontoriero, by shooting at her in July 2023 in the Saavedra neighborhood of Buenos Aires. The court confirmed most of the conviction but partially accepted the defense's appeal, eliminating the aggravating factor of an intimate relationship under Article 80, Section 1 of the Penal Code.[S1]
Judges Gustavo Bruzzone and Jorge Rimondi ruled that although Reina and Pontoriero had an emotional relationship, it was long-distance, between people living in different cities, and did not reach the stability and consolidation required to apply that aggravating factor. Bruzzone stated that they had an 'emotional long-distance relationship' and that although they shared meetings, vacations, and intimate moments, those circumstances 'do not allow for an intimate relationship' as required by the Penal Code. He added that the relationship 'was not consolidated nor did it have the characteristics of a stable couple,' so the aggravating factor did not apply. He also noted that 'the mere existence of an emotional bond is not sufficient' to classify the case under Article 80, Section 1.[S1]
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Other aggravating factors upheld
The court confirmed the rest of the conviction. It found it proven that Reina tried to kill Pontoriero with a .32-caliber revolver, and upheld the aggravating factors of treachery, gender violence, and use of a firearm, as well as the crime of illegal possession. The ruling stated that Reina acted 'taking advantage of the victim's defenselessness' and that the attack occurred in a context of gender violence. The judges also noted that the accused 'fired multiple shots at the victim' and that police intervention was decisive in preventing the attack from ending in her death.[S1]
The ruling emphasized that the attempted homicide was proven by recordings, testimonies, the victim's statement, and ballistic expertise. The first-instance sentence had established that Reina pulled the trigger numerous times before police intervention stopped the attack. In that sense, the court considered that 'the conduct displayed by the accused was unequivocally aimed at causing the death' of Pontoriero. Thus, the court partially granted the appeal, excluded only the aggravating factor of the intimate relationship, and set the final sentence at 17 years in prison.[S1]
